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Occasionally, the barbs might throw players off a little bit, but, as we've seen for a decade now, LeBron James is no ordinary player. The Miami Heat superstar is the NBA's premier performer, a four-time MVP, the best since Michael Jordan and arguably, already, one of the 10 greatest the league has ever seen.

Faced with that reality, Lance Stephenson of the Indiana Pacers tried to mentally throw James off earlier this week, saying James, by trash talking in Saturday's Heat win, had shown "a sign of weakness, because he never used to say nothing."

Or, it might have just been the mercurial Stephenson once again being unable to restrain himself from doing something regrettable.

Either way -- big mistake.

James responded with a 32-point, (29 of them in the first three quarters) 10-rebound, five-assist performance on Monday night in an easy win, giving Miami a 3-1 series lead and a stranglehold on a fourth straight Eastern Conference title.

"I was trying to get into his head, but I guess he stepped up and got the win," understated Stephenson afterward.

No kidding. All of a sudden, a San Antonio Spurs team that had been streamrolling most nights throughout these playoffs, might no longer be the favourite, despite having homecourt advantage, should these two teams meet again in the Finals. James is the reason why it is impossible to count out the Heat, even against as impressive an opponent as the Spurs (providing San Antonio dispatches Oklahoma City). James carried the Heat over the Thunder two years ago and was the difference last June (along with an epic Spurs meltdown).

James had at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in a playoff game for the 74th time, breaking Michael Jordan's record in 151 post-season games (Jordan played in 179), according to ESPN. He also tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 31 playoff games with 25, 10 and five.

Stephenson said he had no regrets about speaking out, but his teammates, Paul George and David West, indicated he should have avoided doing anything to inspire James to play even better.

ENNIS IN TOWN

The Raptors' pre-draft workouts are starting with a big name. Brampton's Tyler Ennis, the star Syracuse point guard, will work-out for the Raptors on Thursday. The team will announce the participants the day of (because schedules change all the time), but fellow Canadians Dwight Powell, a power forward from Stanford who is Toronto-born, and Iowa State's Melvin Ejim (Brampton) also could be in town for workouts.

Other workouts will take place June 3-5 at the Air Canada Centre.

The Raptors are high on Ennis, but know it is highly unlikely he will still be on the board if they stay put at No. 20. The team even admitted as much Tuesday afternoon: "Although he is projected to be taken before the Raptors make their draft pick, guard Tyler Ennis (Syracuse) will highlight Thursday's session with his first pre-draft workout in his hometown," read a release.

Ennis was a semi-finalist for the Naismith College Player of the Year Award.

As expected, the Raptors will return to Summer League action in Las Vegas from July 11-21.

With a busy summer of workouts with specialists like Hakeem Olajuwon, as well as his commitments with Lithuania, last year's circuit MVP Jonas Valanciunas will not be suiting up for the Raptors again, according to general manager Masai Ujiri. The team does have three draft picks though (Nos. 20, 37 and 59) and if none of them are stashed in Europe, all should play, possibly along with swingman Terrence Ross.

The Utah Jazz will participate for the first time, along with 22 other NBA squads and a NBA D-League select team.

AROUND THE RIM

Miami can become just the third franchise ever to reach the final four years in a row (Boston Celtics twice, Los Lakers once) ... Through 150 career playoff games, James has 98 wins, one behind Jordan (who had two more titles at the same stage) ... Indiana's George said the Heat might have received "home cooking" from the referees in Game 4, since there was a large free-throw disparity, but James and the Heat laughed that off ... Chris Bosh scored 25 points against Indiana in Game 4, the most in his last 58 playoff games and two fewer than he had managed, total, in the first three games ... Once a top 10 scorer, Miami's Rashard Lewis, now a role player, has somehow gone +35 in his past two outings, despite not scoring a single point.

Occasionally, the barbs might throw players off a little bit, but, as we've seen for a decade now, LeBron James is no ordinary player. The Miami Heat superstar is the NBA's premier performer, a four-time MVP, the best since Michael Jordan and arguably, already, one of the 10 greatest the league has ever seen.

Faced with that reality, Lance Stephenson of the Indiana Pacers tried to mentally throw James off earlier this week, saying James, by trash talking in Saturday's Heat win, had shown "a sign of weakness, because he never used to say nothing."

Or, it might have just been the mercurial Stephenson once again being unable to restrain himself from doing something regrettable.

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